Alberto Gonzales defiant in NPR interview

Ex-U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claimed that he will not be prosecuted for allowing the use of torture under the Bush White House.

In an interview given yesterday to NPR, Gonzales declared that he and others at the Department of Justice would be exempt from possible criminal prosecution. “I don't see a criminal prosecution for me, nor for anyone that I'm aware of, because again . . . people acted in good faith” said the former top cop.

Gonzales also lashed out at Eric Holder- President Barack Obama's pick for Attorney General- after Holder mentioned that waterboarding is torture. Said the ex-A.G.:

“I don’t know what Mr. Holder did or didn’t know in making that statement…And I think that one needs to be careful in making a blanket pronouncement like that, if you don’t have all the information, because of the effect it may have, again, on the morale and the dedication of intelligence officials and lawyers throughout the administration.”

Gonzales' term in office from 2005 to 2007 was wrought with controversy; he had overseen an illegal warrantless surveillance program and had been accused of abusing his power in the firing of eight federal attorneys. Yet in the interview Gonzales denied culpability and tended to finger-point at others for his own faults.

Image- MSNBC
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, NPR, washingtonpost.com, CNET News, New York Times, UPI, Huffington Post